Carabidae is a large family of ground beetles, with more than 40,000 species worldwide. Most of them are carnivorous, and some will run swiftly to catch their prey. Although there is some variation in their body shape and coloring, most are shiny, black (some as the specimen shown are metallic), and have ridged elytra or wing covers.

The Apistogramma borelli is a member of the Apistogramma or dwarf cichlid family. Its natural habitat is in the rivers of Uruguay and Argentina. As with many members of the family the pair retreats to their territory when spawning season begins and the eggs are deposited in a small cave. The female looks after the eggs, but both parents guard and defend their offspring. Like most parents, they have little patience to potential danger to their hatchlings.

Parkinsonia is a tree from the family Fabaceae. It grows from 2 to 8 meters high. The leaves and stems are hairless. The flattened leaf stalk is edged by two rows of 25-30 tiny oval leaflets; the leaflets are soon deciduous in dry weather, leaving the green leaf stalks and branches to photosynthesize. The branches grow sharp spines 7-12 mm long. The flowers are yellow and fragrant, 20 mm in diameter, growing from a long slender stalk in groups of eight to ten. The fruit is a pod, leathery in appearance, light brown when mature. Parkinsonia can thrive in a wide range of conditions. It occurs in climates varying from the moist sub-humid tropics to the harsh arid areas. It especially thrives around watercourses. However, it can also reach uplands that are never inundated and form dense thickets. Although it grows best on clay, it is found on a wide variety of soils.

Endemic to South America and Mexico, in its native range is found along streams or in swamps and marshes. It is abundant in many regions, ascending from sea level to about 1900 metres. It prefers light to medium, moist, well-drained soils in an open sunny position. Like all the members of the genux Salix it has abundant watery sap, furrowed scaly bark which is heavily charged with salicylic acid (the main component of Aspirin), tough wood, slender branches and large, fibrous, stoloniferous roots. The latter are remarkable for their toughness, size, and tenacity of life, and readily grow from aerial parts of the plant. Pencil willows are dioecious (having unisexual reproductive units with male and female plants), with male and female flowers appearing as catkins on different plants. These are produced early in the spring, often before the leaves open. The fruit is a small capsule containing numerous tiny (0.1 mm) seeds embedded in white down, which assists wind dispersal of the seeds.

Why bilingual? For starters, Spanish is my native tongue. Secondly, English is still the universal language and the blog is meant to be accessible for anyone on the globe who is into Nature conservancy; particularly in getting to know Uruguay's flora and fauna.

"Hunting is merely a cowardly circumlocution for the cowardy murder of fellow creatures who do not have a chance. Hunting is a variant of human mental illness" Theodore Heuss (First president of the Republic of Germany; 1884-1963)

"When I was twelve, I went hunting with my father and we shot a bird. He was laying there and something struck me. Why do we call this fun to kill this creature who was as happy as I was when I woke up this morning?" (American and Canadian football coach, 1925-)

"May I walk unceasingly on the banks of my river, may my soul repose on the branches of the trees which I planted, and may I may refresh myself under the shadow of my sycamore tree".Egyptian tomb inscription, circa 1400 AD

"We must protect the forests for our children, grandchildren and children yet to be born. We must protect the forests for those who can't speak for themselves such as the birds, other animals and the trees."Chief Edward Moody, Qwatsinas, Nuxalk Nation

"No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if promontory were... Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls: it tolls for thee".John Donne, English Metaphysical poet (1572 - 1631)